Titanic
by Imitation Angel
Summary: Titanic, 1827 style. HIATUS


I've never seen the movie Titanic before, but I heard a lot about it...and I wanted to write one based on it. I read the synopsis on it and that's pretty much all the background info I have of it. There will be a few details tweaked here and there. If I continue this, it might be posted as a one shot, or multi-chap if I can manage it. School has started for me and I can't believe the huge jump in workload -~-

Anyways, drop me a line on how you think of it. Also, more knowledge on the Titanic is welcome.

* * *

><p>Sawada "Tsuna" Tsunayoshi was a manic in poker.<p>

Of course, the two Irishmen they were against had no idea. If they did, they never would have betted a prize as precious as a pair of third-class Titanic tickets.

"Tsuna. Are you sure you've got something there?" Gokudera murmured, his Japanese accented by his Italian heritage.

The brunet smiled at his best friend reassuringly. He didn't spend the last couple of rounds making himself seem as harmless as possible for nothing. With their confidence boosted, the Irishmen had demanded an all in, and since Tsuna was dirt poor, he really didn't have any other items of value that could rival Titanic tickets (all of his clothes combined together couldn't even equal one sixteenth of a ticket), even though they were only third class status. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. His long dead parents would definitely chastise him if he didn't take it.

The moment of truth came. Gokudera lay down his cards with a curse. He had nothing. The burly Irishman had a pair, and his skinnier companion had a straight. The Irishmen were already beginning to celebrate their win—a straight was almost a guaranteed killer this late in the game.

"Somebody's life is about to change," Tsuna said as he laid down his hand—a full house. The foreigners swore loudly in their native language as the bartender whistled and clapped him on his back.

"That's some mighty good luck you go there, lad."

Tsuna could hardly believe it himself. "Hayato, we're going to America!"

"You'll miss her if you don't hurry. She's setting out in five minutes," the bartender warned.

Gokudera shoveled their winnings hurriedly in a satchel as Tsuna secured their tickets.

Then they hauled ass out of there and ran for their lives. Literally. _America _was their life now.

* * *

><p>From this close up, it looked like the huge marine vessel was swallowing up the sky. Her name was emblazoned on her side in large, bolded letters—<em>Titanic. <em>To say that she was just a ship was something beyond an understatement. It was like saying Leonardo da Vinci dabbled a little into art or that Beethoven composed amateur music.

A carriage stopped a short distance away from the entrance. A male that had his blue hair tied in a thin ponytail that plunged down his back stepped out first and opened the side door. A female with hair that was a shade between blue and purple emerged, her startling amethyst eyes flitting around wondrously as she stared up at the ship.

Another male stepped out, his steel blue eyes furious and his mouth drawn in a perpetual scowl. Unlike his companions who wore English-styled formal wear, he was in a kimono. It was a deep purple and held together by an intricate black obi that matched his raven tresses. Beautiful as it was, it stood out in the crowd of non-Japanese people and drew many stares, some in rapture and awe, and some in envy.

The last person stepped out. His hair was the most unusual out of the group—a brilliant snow white. He was smiling affably, not seeming to mind the stares.

"Maa, maa…no wonder it's called the 'Ship of Dreams.' It fits perfectly." The Japanese male's features deepened further in disgust as he turned away from the albino's smile. It was sickening, a mere façade put up to mislead others.

"Yes, it's beautiful," the girl agreed softly, only heard by her brother, whose mismatched red and blue eyes were gathering even more attention from other passengers.

The group moved towards the entrance with their cabin boy leading the way. None of them looked back.

* * *

><p>The ship had departed. Tsuna had leaned against the rail with Gokudera and waved to the people on the dock, even though he didn't know anyone there. When the day dragged on and the air in their cabins seemed too stuffy to bear, they went out onto the deck to get some fresh air.<p>

They (Tsuna, Gokudera looked slightly irritated) had been ecstatic when they found someone they knew on board—someone that was fresh out of the same college they attended. Yamamoto Takeshi, baseball extraordinaire, and on his way to America to play in the Major Leagues. He was well known and extremely popular in Japan. Yamamoto and Gokudera had struck up a conversation on how the ship was built. Tsuna didn't miss the way Yamamoto's eyes seemed to light up when he talked to Gokudera. He didn't miss it all the way through college either. Gokudera never noticed.

His attention switched over to the subjects of his sketch. A grandpa and his young grandson—he guessed to be around six years old—were looking over the railing and out to the sea. His eyes flicked between his subjects and his paper as his hand that held the charcoal stick outlined their bodies, pausing to fill in the deep wrinkles on the old man's face.

"What are you drawing now, Tsuna?" Gokudera asked, leaning over.

"Let me see," Yamamoto said, whistling low under his breath when he saw the sketch. "That's pretty good, Tsuna."

"It's because I take my time," the brunet said modestly as he began to draw the grandpa's long fingers—fingers that were pointing out shapes in the clouds and the seagulls that seemed to fly amongst them.

His scrutinizing eyes that had absorbed every detail of the grandpa's profile suddenly flickered away, entranced by one person that stood against the railing of the first class deck, surrounded by so many people, but yet managed to look all alone at the same time.

Raven tresses fluttered wildly with the next gust of wind. He was, very obviously, of Asian descent, and judging from the style of the kimono he wore, perhaps even came from Japan—the same country he was from. The male suddenly glanced at him—his eyes a mix of a stormy grey color and blue.

Tsuna blushed and looked away from the piercing gaze. He had a sudden urge to draw him.

When he felt that it was safe to look up, their eyes connected again—this time he held the stare.

"He's extremely out of your league, Tsuna!" someone said—or rather, shouted. It was Ryohei, his former classmate that had adopted him as a younger brother. Tsuna felt a small surge of happiness that his onii-san had boarded the Titanic as well, but it was impossible to take his eyes off of the raven-haired passenger.

The connection was broken off by the kimono clad male this time as someone with white hair approached him. They left soon after. Tsuna couldn't figure out why his stance had transformed so quickly from a sharp loneliness to a raging fury that was so bottled up that Tsuna thought he could almost feel the heavy tension.

* * *

><p>Hibari stared contemptuously at the back of the man he hated most in the world. He hated the man for shackling him. He hated him for now having control over every move in his life. And what he hated most was that he had let himself fall in this situation, hated how he let himself be the ultimate sacrifice for his crippled sister.<p>

"Here's your room, Kyouya-chan~"

Hibari kept his emotionless mask on, not flinching at the dripping false sweetness of his words. He didn't know why Byakuran insisted on using his native language instead of English around him. It made the familiar honorific all the more degrading.

He walked silently past Byakuran, feeling his irritation pique as he took in the largeness of the room. It was a long and vicious fight to get a single room, but he didn't need this spacious of one. It was like his _fiancée_—Hibari felt bile rise at the back of his throat just by the mere thought—wanted to spite him as much as possible.

"Well, I'll see you soon, Kyouya-chan. Don't forget to dress up later."

Hibari bit back the words that would only lead to his downfall, choosing to let the anger dissipate slowly as closed the door behind him.

He fell back onto his fucking _large ass _bed in this fucking _large ass _room. What felt like hours passed by as he bore his eyes into the ceiling. There was nobody left to care. The walls were bare, an empty canvas, just like him. The furniture; although grand and luxurious; served nothing to ease his loneliness.

At the moment, he felt like he could die at any given time and nobody would give a damn.

_Knock knock._

"Kyouya-kun?"

Maybe not.

"Come in."

A meek, purple-haired girl let herself in, her eyes filling with sadness as she saw Hibari's state.

It was, with no doubt, the fault of Byakuran. Nagi wanted to grind her teeth at the thought. Byakuran, who offered the only way out of Hibari's financial crisis, used Bluebell's hospital bills as bait. It was bait that Hibari took.

She wasn't stupid. She knew that her brother, Mukuro, didn't go out late at night to "take care of the checkbooks." Byakuran was fooling around with both her brother and her best friend, and it hurt.

"Everyone is waiting for you at dinner," she said softly as she laid out the necessary preparations. Hibari scowled, but said nothing. "Bluebell would be happy to see you when you come back."

The raven-haired male released a small sigh. "Thank you, Nagi."

She caught the unspoken words. _For being here._

* * *

><p>It was as she said. Everyone was waiting for him. He did what was only necessary to play his part as fiancée, parrying Byakuran's wandering hands under the table. He wouldn't stoop as low as a whore.<p>

Why did every—single—herbivore—have—to—be—so—damn—loud…his thoughts were in broken fragments, but his face betrayed nothing.

It was too much. It was like they were being happy and cheerful at his expense. After refusing the fiftieth glass of wine offered to him, he stood up, disregarding the stares, gasps, and calls of his name as he made his way out.

Out. That was the only way to go.

He picked up speed until he was running along the promenade leading to the stern of the ship. When he got to the railing, he stared moodily at the foaming waves. They looked quite inviting to him. He had never pictured himself to use such an herbivorous way to escape. Running away was what herbivores were best at. But if the waters offered freedom from Byakuran…

* * *

><p>Tsuna was lying down at a bench that was situated conveniently at the stern of the ship—nobody came back here. It was too dark, too lonely, but perfect for him—he got a wonderful view of the stars, which always calmed him and gave him a sense of peace.<p>

Which was why he was startled when he heard quick footsteps heading his way. He quickly sat up from the bench when he saw who it was—the first class passenger from earlier. He was standing against the railing, and slightly shaking. Tsuna deduced it couldn't be from the cold as soon as he saw him climbing over the side of the railing. He was almost certain the man was Japanese now—the style of sandals he was wearing was familiar.

Tsuna rose from the bench in panic. Sandals had poor grip at best. The man could easily slip and fall—but his poise was perfect, and not a single step was missed. He had perfect balance. Was his goal to…? No, he couldn't be…

He approached him quietly, standing a few feet behind him as he alerted the other of his presence. "You shouldn't do that…" He frowned, and his brows furrowed further. "In fact, please don't do what I think you're going to do."

* * *

><p>Hibari made his last decision. There was no room for regret—only a short beat of hesitation as he thought about Nagi and Bluebell. He shoved the moment of weakness aside. Nagi could cope, and Bluebell had enough money to last her for a good twenty years. Byakuran wouldn't dare withdraw his funds—he had entrusted Nagi with the documents that would reveal his treachery.<p>

So all would be well, even with his death. Maybe in the afterlife, he would have better luck. He snorted as he thought about that—he would most likely go to hell for giving up his life.

He held on to the railing, allowing himself a quick moment before hurling himself into the stormy depths. Just when he was about to let go, he heard a voice that lulled his hands to clench around the railing again. He turned around to see who it was—it was a male who had a slight figure, untamable, gravity-defying hair, and warm brown eyes that reminded him of the expensive caramel treats Byakuran had gotten him for Valentine's Day.

It was the same herbivore he had saw earlier on the day. He had captured his attention, but was still an herbivore nonetheless. He didn't have the right to tell him what to do.

"Go away, or I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna blinked his eyes at the most peculiar threat that he had ever heard in his life, before realizing that the male was indeed Japanese.

He continued to approach him silently. The male's knuckles had turned white at the strength of his grip on the railing. He released the breath he had been holding as he stood next to the raven-haired passenger.

He glanced up at the night for one more time. The stars were twinkling. He looked at Hibari, unfazed by his hostility.

"Well…I can't leave now. I'm involved now, so…" Tsuna began to unlace his boots and unbutton his mantle. "If you jump, I'd have to jump right in there after you." He kept his careful gaze on Hibari all the while.

Hibari scowled as the other male began to strip his outer clothing. This herbivore wasn't going to ruin his plan. Like hell he would. "Fuck off, herbivore. You're not going to stop anything." _The fall alone would kill you, _he added silently.

"I can, and I will," Tsuna replied calmly, inwardly questioning the man's choice of insults and threats. "I'm not going to turn a blind eye…" He paused to rub his hands together, blowing warm air on them. "Wow, it's really cold out tonight. Have you ever been to Italy before?" he blurted out, still rubbing his hands together. "Me and my family took a short vacation to Milan, and you wouldn't believe how c-cold the winters got if you were from a different part of I-Italy…" Tsuna took a moment to calm his stuttering that was brought on by the cold and his nervousness. "Well," he continued as he took another big breath, "I went skating there with my parents. My father was trying to teach me how to skate, and uh…I was quite clumsy back then," Tsuna said with a sheepish chuckle. "The ice broke and I fell through. The water…" the brunet let a shiver run through him as he pointed over the boat, where the water foamed up near the propellers. "Kind of looks like that. It was cold…beyond freezing, really. You can't think of anything but how much it hurt…you couldn't move, breath…it's like millions of needles jabbing you and turning your blood to ice…"

Hibari didn't miss the pinched look on Tsuna's face that disappeared as quickly as it had materialized. Sincerity had colored his explanation.

"So I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea of having to jump in there with you," Tsuna continued as he looked Hibari square in the eye. "So I'm hoping for both of our sakes…come back over the railing." The smile he gave then stunned the other momentarily.

Hibari scowled again. Who was this herbivore? Even when he tried to take his own life there was someone to stop him from making his own choice, damn it. He could really care less about the physical pain after all the crap he's been put through, but something in him had faltered when Tsuna had told him about the ice in Milan. He really didn't want to be the cause for this…herbivore's death…

He raised an incredulous eyebrow when the herbivore extended a hand towards him. He clearly wanted to pull him over. He wanted to say he could do it himself, but he was in a disadvantageous position. Reluctantly, he accepted his hand.

Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Hibari Kyouya," he said tersely before swinging over the rail in a swift move. He released the brunet's hand immediately after.

"Hibari-san," Tsuna tested.

Hibari nodded at the honorific. If the herbivore had tried anything less, he would have been bitten to death.

"Hibari-san…would you mind telling me what you were thinking when you were about to jump?" Tsuna asked as he went through the process of putting his boots on and buttoning up his mantle. He shook his head at the glare he received from the question. "No, I don't think you did it for a weak reason. You're very—"

Tsuna let out a low grunt as he felt the sting of a harsh slap across his cheek.

"Maa, maa, why are you flirting with _my _fiancée?"


End file.
